Fire-escape



' T. R. BUD D.

FIRE ESCAPE.

(No Model.)

Patented July 17, 1888.

WITNESSES t dytwa W J- :3

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

NTTED STATES THOMAS RIVES BUDD, OF OARTHAGE, NE\V YORK.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIPICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,237, dated July 17, 1888.

Application filed August 25,1887. Serial No. 247,889.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, THOMAS RIVEs BUDD, of Carthage, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of fire escapes in which the body is suspended from a frame that slides upon a rope attached by one end to some suitable or convenient part of the building.

The object of my invention is to construct a device of this character in such manner that it may be quickly applied to any part of the rope without winding or passing the rope entirely through the frame; and the improvement consists in a frame provided with a cen tral bar upon which the rope is wound, the said bar being secured at one end only to the frame, and held against the frame at the other end by the strain upon the rope.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view, and Fig. 2 a vertical section of the same; and Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of a modification of the device.-

The preferred form of construction (shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings) consists of a frame, A, upon the lower end of which a hook, A, is east, through which the rope B passes to the ground and is guided therein. A central bar, 0, is pivoted at c to lugs a upon the middle of the lower cross bar, A", of the frame, and rests in a recess, a, formed at the middle of the upper cross-bar, A Upright bars A" connect the crossbar-s A A and provide a stout frame upon which the central bar, 0, is supported. The bar 0 may be made hollow to secure the requisite diameter and lightness, and is, together with the frame A,ofsufficient length to admit of several coils of rope being wound upon it.

The frame may be attached to the rope at any part of its length by making a suitable number of coils upon the finger, then raising the free end of the central bar, 0, up from the frame and passing the coils onto the central bar. The tension of the rope will then hold the free end of the central bar tightly pressed against the upper crossbar of the frame to prevent the rope from being detached from the frame so long as strain is (No model.)

brought upon the rope. By this means my improved device may be readily attached to and removed from a rope which is secured at both ends to fixed objects.

The modification shown in Fig.3 ofthedrawings shows a central bar, 0, connected by a spring-joint, c", with the lower cross-bar, A", of the frame, and supported at its free end in a recess formed in the lower cross-bar, as in the first-described form of construction. A strap, I), is attached to the lower crossbar, A of the frame, and may be passed around the body in any secure and convenient man- 1161.

By pulling upon the rope below the frame the person descendingor another person upon the ground below,may check and regulate the rapidity of the descent of the person upon the rope in a manner com mon to devices of this construction.

A hook, E, is secured to one end of the rope, and when the device herein described has been used and slipped to the lower end of the rope it may be removed therefrom and readily be replaced upon the upper or book end of the rope, as hereinbefore described. The rope may be wound upon the frame A when not in use, and suspended by the hook A atitslower end from a nail or hook upon the wall of the room,and the hook A, herein described,is used in lieu of a dead-eye commonly employed in devices of this kind, in order that the rope may be readily applied to or detached from the frame at any point along the length of the rope without passing the end of the rope through said hook or dead-eye.

The hook A forms both a guide and an extra tension for the rope. The central or tension bar, 0, is preferably placed at the back of the frame, and the tension of the rope will tend to keep the bar 0 closed, and the said hook may be placed upon the upper end of the frame, if preferred,without departing from my invention.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A fireescape consisting of an open frame formed of side and end bars, and provided with a projecting hook on its lower end bar, and'with a central bar having one end pivotally connected to the lower end bar of the frame, with its free end resting upon the upper end bar of the said frame, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a fire-esenpe,the open frame A, formed 5 of the side bars, A, and end bars,vA A and provided with the hook A on its lower end bar, and with the bar 0, pivoted to the lower end bar and having its free end resting upon the upper cross-bar, in combination with the rope B, coiled around the pivoted bar and [0 passed through the said hook, substantially as herein shown and described.

THOMAS RIVES BUDD. Witnesses:

GEORGE G. JOHNSON, JOSEPH P. BUDD. 

